What We Call Ours
by the-gay-weeb-trash
Summary: Bertholdt Hoover grows up in Central America with his two best friends, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhardt. They suffer through times good and bad, but the trio is always there for one another. However, as time goes on, Bertholdt begins to feel something more for Reiner. Where will this lead?
1. The First Meeting

The First Meeting

Bertholdt Fubar took one last glance back at his mother and father, who gave him encouraging smiles and waves, before he turned to the doors which would lead to a twelve year experience that most people have their own unique names for. Prison, jail, Hell-the names all had the same source. Bertholdt had been dreading this day, the first day of a 7-hour torture session for the duration of his youth. Taking a deep breath, the tall, 6-year-old boy with dark hair, tan skin and olive green eyes pushed the doors open and stepped into Hayden Peak Elementary School. Knowing his classroom number was 1b, he made his way to the first graders' hall and scoured the area for his assigned class.

Upon seeing the confused look on the boy's face, the vice principal Hanji Zoë quickly stepped up to him and offered her assistance.

"Hello there young man!" She boomed excitedly. "Can I help you with anything?"

Bertholdt blushed. "Oh u-um...I can't quite find my class..." He stared down at the floor and scuffed his sneaker on the tile.

Miss Zoë gave him a wide grin. "Ah, well if you tell me your room number I can help you out with that!"

"1b." He still didn't bring his eyes to meet hers.

Gently placing her hand on his shoulder, the spunky woman directed him to the classroom door which was situated between two others just across the hall from where they stood. "Your class is just over there, you have Mr. Ackerman as your teacher!" She gave him a wide grin before gently shoving him in that direction, and he stumbled forward a bit. He gulped, then proceeded to his class which he entered slowly, glancing in as to check that no one was watching.

Seeing that no one was really sitting yet and all of his fellow classmates were lined up around the edge of his class, he took it upon himself and joined them at the back, in hopes that no one would notice him.

The teacher, Mr. Ackerman, was a very short and angry-looking man. He had an undercut on his black hair, a cravat where most teachers would have a tie or a bow, and was currently leaning against the whiteboard at the front of the class with his arms crossed, looking at all of the students expectantly. He made the atmosphere a little tense with his lack of speech, simply waiting for the rest of the students to file in. The bell rang after another good 5 minutes, and the second it did, he, stood up to address the class.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Mr. Ackerman. I will be your teacher for the duration of the school year. I would like to formally welcome you all to first grade!" He spoke with an almost monotone, and his eyebrows remained forever furrowed, though his lips made enough expressions to make up for the lack which plagued those other two.

He continued to sit behind the computer at his desk, and turn on the overhead projector with a small white remote. As it whirred to life, Bertholdt's gaze wandered around the room at his fellow classmates, scoping out who might be potential bullies. Most of the other students remained silent and simply watched Mr. Ackerman fiddle with the computer, but there were a few spunky ones he took note of.

The first being an average-looking boy with intensely green eyes and messy brown hair. He was very tough and angry, so Bertholdt made a mental note to avoid him. He was with an Asian girl with long black hair and a red scarf, as well as a very small and skinny boy with a blond bowl-cut. Those two probably wouldn't be problematic, but they were with the angry boy so Bert was a little weary.

The next trouble maker was a skinny boy with a shaved head whose clothes were all out of order and had dirt all over him, as well as a bunch of scrapes on his knees. He was wildly talking to a long haired brunette who had her hair in a messy pony tail and was munching on a bag of potato chips. She was distantly paying attention to what the bald boy was blabbering about but seemed more focused on her chips.

There was a tall (though not nearly as tall as Bertholdt) boy who also had an undercut, but his shorter hair was a dark brown while his long hair was dirty blond. He had been saying something mean to the angry boy who in turn growled back at him, though with tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Yet another boy with a short undercut (what was with that hairstyle?) and freckles all over the bridge of his nose and under his eyes was tugging at the taller boy's shirt and telling him to stop, to no avail.

The last few students he noticed started with a blond boy who had broad shoulders and looked really tough. He was taller than the dual-hair-colored boy but still shorter than Bertholdt. He was leaning against the wall with one arm and blabbing incessantly to a very small girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes, who was looking up at him with a sort of terrified face. A tomboyish girl with brown hair in a short ponytail and tan skin like Bertholdt's stood behind the short blonde and gave a very angry glare to the blond boy. The last girl was also extremely short, a little taller than the other blonde, had her bleach hair up in a spiky bun with her bangs hanging in her face. She had piercing blue eyes and a very bored expression on her face. She stood a little behind the large blond boy, looking as if she would rather be anywhere else.

Mr. Ackerman finally stood up again, then pulled down the projector screen and a blank seating chart was made visible for the students to see. He gestured at the desks. "I will allow you to sit where you would like for the entire year. However, you have to agree to obey my rules," the class nodded excitedly. "First, you are not allowed to talk while I am talking. If you have a question or something you need to say, please raise your hand and I will call on you. Second, do not leave the room without asking to do so. I had a major problem with my students last year for some reason with them just getting up and leaving to go to the bathroom or something. I don't want to see any of you doing that, am I clear?" A chorus of nods and 'Okay's. "Just raise your hand guys, it's not that hard. My last rule is that you respect yourselves, your classmates, and the school's property. Respect is a major thing in my class and I won't tolerate anything less. As long as you follow these three simple rules I will allow you to sit wherever you would like. Now then, with that out of the way, I'll give you guys five minutes to get to where you want to sit. Please think about who you want to sit by because the seat you pick is where you'll be at the rest of the year. Once you're all settled, I'll fill out this chart with your locations. Ready? Go!"

The room quickly became chaotic as the students scrambled to find their seats, shoving past each other to get to the best ones. Bertholdt idly stood by and watched them in their fury, as if they were soldiers on a battlefield slaughtering one another for the glory of victory. He wanted a seat towards the back, so he made his way to that area. The desks were aligned in rows facing the front of the room, but were pushed together in an organized manner. He noticed that the blonde girl with her hair in a bun had taken the further most seat in the back right corner of the class, so he sat himself one seat away just to give her the space she looked like she wanted. Her gaze slowly drifted over to him as he hung his backpack on the back of his chair and folded his hands neatly in his lap. He started sweating nervously when her gaze didn't shift. He felt like her eyes were boring into his soul.

Suddenly there was a loud thunk! in the seat on the left next to him and his head quickly snapped around to see what it was. Surprised, his eyes were met with those of the big blond boy who had been earlier flirting with the tiny blonde girl. He had surprisingly golden eyes and there was a bit of a red mark on his cheek. "Hi there, I'm Reiner!" He boldly announced, jabbing his hand in Bertholdt's direction.

The taller boy recoiled a bit, before realizing he only meant a friendly handshake. "U-um hi, I'm Bert-tholdt," he stuttered, before meekly returning the handshake. His cheeks flushed red and he was sweating even more now.

"That stupid Ymir girl chased me away from my Christa!" Reiner said angrily, as he watched the short blonde and the tall brunette who had taken it upon themselves to sit on the opposite side of the room from the big blond. He then turned back around to smile at Bertholdt, whose sweating only got more intense because of this. He didn't know what to do, or say-what did this kid want?

Then he heard the bleach-blonde girl shifting, so he looked back over to see what she was doing. She had hung her backpack in a similar manner to Bertholdt's on the back of the chair in between them, then graciously moved herself into that seat. She brushed her bangs behind her ear and looked up at the taller boy, then back at Reiner, who watched her with an eyebrow cocked. "I thought you two losers looked lonely so I decided to keep you company," was the only explanation they got from her, and her gaze just shifted back down to her desk. Bertholdt hadn't noticed before but she had been scribbling in a sketchbook, a picture of herself and what looked like an older man.

Reiner then spoke up again. "Yeah and everybody else here is dumb so I wanted to sit by you!" He added with a smile and Bertholdt flushed a little bit. "Oh and that's Annie," he added, pointing to the girl on Bertholdt's right. She said nothing, but nodded her head a little bit before resuming her picture.

Mr. Ackerman spoke again, drawing the class's attention. "Alright everyone, as you can see I have placed you in your seats up here on the seating chart according to where you are right now. This is your seat for the rest of the year unless I change you, so you better behave!" He proceeded to pick up a stack of papers off his desk and hand the exact amount to each row as he walked along, informing them to "Pass it down." When the papers reached Bertholdt's row, he looked down at his to see what their first assignment was. It was one of those get-to-know-your-classmates papers, and he thought the assignment would be pointless for him because to be honest he didn't really want to be anyone's friend. Maybe Reiner and Annie but that was about it.

The teacher instructed the class that they would have to get up and fill out the paper, and fill out certain things like 'who has been to Texas' or 'who can play piano' and things like that. Everyone rose from their seats and ambled about the classroom, walking up to each other and asking those questions.

Bertholdt supposed the assignment was good for learning who you would be with for the year, because he learned the names of the children he had picked out earlier. The angry boy with green eyes was named Eren, the Asian girl was Mikasa, their small blond friend was Armin, the bald boy was Connie, the girl with the chips was Sasha, the dual-hair-colored boy was Jean, his freckled friend was Marco, the short blonde Reiner was flirting with was Christa, and the tan-skinned tomboy with her was Ymir. Bertholdt considered that he should give them all a chance before truly judging whether or not to avoid or ignore them, and he did.

The teacher then clapped his hands and ordered the students to return to their seats, which they did hastily. He then collected their papers and informed them that this paper would just be participation points, so as long as they actually did it they'd get s good grade. He then picked up another thin stack of papers off of his tidy desk, and after flipping through and seeing there weren't enough for the whole class, he excused himself to the copy room to get the rest. The second Mr. Ackerman left the room, all of the students burst into conversation, chatting each other up and getting to know one another better.

Reiner turned in his desk to look at Bertholdt and Annie, who had her cheek in her hand and was giving a bored stare to the other two. Reiner then picked up the conversation again excitedly. "So where do you live, Bertholdt?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, um...just down the road a little bit. My backyard is right across the street from the junior high," Bertl replied sheepishly, starting another small nervous sweat from being stared at by the two blondes.

"Oh that's cool! I live just down the road from this school. We moved here last year! So what do you like to do for fun?" Reiner had a wide grin on his face.

"I uh, like to watch Sesame Street and I like to ride my bike...I also am learning how to roller blade. I just moved here too a couple of weeks ago, so I haven't really made any friends yet," Bertl hoped he didn't sound too lame.

Reiner's grin never faltered. "That's cool! I like Sesame Street and riding my bike too! I've made some friends-I like Christa and Connie and Eren and..." He gave a glance over his shoulder at the bleach blonde girl staring at them. "Even Annie. But hey if you don't have any friends then me and her could be friends for you!"

Bertholdt was a bit surprised by this. They were offering to be his friends? He turned to look at Annie and she simply nodded in agreement. He didn't know what to say or do. He simply sat there, dumbfounded, looking back and forth between them with a bewildered expression. Not knowing what else to say or do, he nodded his head politely and squeaked, "O-okay...yeah sure."

"Great!" Reiner boomed, grinning even wider. Mr. Ackerman returned just then with the stack of papers, waving them in his hand for all to see before passing them out and continuing into a lesson about reading. Bertholdt couldn't help but smile a little as the day progressed, and he was more than grateful to have his new friends.

That night after his parents had picked him up and they were all eating dinner, his father laid the usual question down on the table. "So how was your first day of school, Bertl?"

Twirling his spaghetti with his fork, Bertholdt looked up at his father who was a very tall and slim man, with a bit of a beard forming on his jaw. "It was good," Bertholdt replied nonchalantly, feeling sort of bored with his food.

"Did you make any new friends?" His mother chimed in. She was a petite woman with a perfect body, tan skin, and long, luxurious dark hair.

Bertholdt nodded. "Yeah. There's a boy named Reiner and a girl named Annie. They're both blondes and they're nice. My teacher seems okay too. His name is Mr. Ackerman."

"That's good," his father rasped. He had the voice of a 10-year smoker, and coughed constantly from the tar buildup in his lungs. He had also been diagnosed with chronic emphysema, and the doctors had only given him a few years left to live. The Fubars never spoke about this however, as it was a subject they preferred not to address. And, even though he knew this, Mr. Fubar still smoked religiously, claiming to his wife whenever she confronted him about it that "He didn't have long left to live anyways so he might as well make the best of it." Once they were finished with dinner, his father excused himself to go outside for a minute while Bertholdt helped his mother wash the dishes. Once he heard the front door close and he knew his father was out there smoking, Bertholdt gave a heavy sigh.

"What's eating at you?" His mother asked as she was scrubbing down the pot she had used for the tomato sauce.

"I just wish Daddy didn't smoke all the time," he said wistfully, staring at the plate in his hand with a sad expression.

Mrs. Fubar set the pot down, and looked at her son with her brows furrowed. After a minute, she gently grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. Tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes, she gave a small nod. "Me too, Bertl. Me too."

She let the hug sink in before rising up again, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Now then. I think it's beginning to be your bedtime, young man. What do you think?"

Bertholdt gave a small laugh. "Aw no, momma! I want to stay up tonight!"

The slim woman chuckled a little, then replied cheerfully, "Alright, here's what I'll do. If you help me finish these dishes I'll let you stay up until nine tonight for being a good helper and for braving your first day at school. And we can even make some popcorn and watch a movie. But we have to get the dishes done fast though-what do you say?"

Bertholdt nodded in agreement rapidly just as his father came in from smoking. "I'll second that!" He bellowed while giving his wife and child a happy smile. They couldn't help but return the grin and soon all three members of their small family were frantically washing, drying, and putting away the dishes. They all then agreed on watching Spirit-Stallion of the Cimarron, a favorite of Bertholdt's. Mrs. Fubar made popcorn and joined her boys on the couch as they all cuddled up and enjoyed the film. Bertholdt felt safe and secure snuggled between his parents and for that moment, all was right and well with the world, and he wished it would never change.

Alas, all good things have to come to an end, and the young boy was counting the hours until this one did.


	2. The Loss

The Loss

It was during their 4th grade year that it happened. Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie were out playing on the swings during recess when they noticed one of the aids approaching them, and vice principal Zoë at his side. Reiner ceased his pushing of Bertholdt who had been laughing playfully until that point, and Annie who was rocking quietly next to them had also stopped to observe the faculty.

The aid, Keith Shadis, a tall and lanky man with both a vicious bark and bite, focused his attention on Bertholdt and said softly, but with a bit of sharpness, "Bertholdt Fubar, I'm going to need you to come with us. Your mother is here to check you out, due to a family emergency which has recently popped up."

Bertholdt felt his heart skip a beat. He was 99% sure he knew what had happened, and he felt tears begin to swell in his eyes as he hopped off the swing. He approached the aid and VP, who in her kindness smiled and offered him her had which he gratefully took. As they walked off towards the east doors of the school, the young boy gave one glance back at his friends who sadly smiled and waved, and he returned the gesture. The aid dropped Ms. Zoë and Bertl off in the building before returning to his duties at recess, and the duo make a quick stop by Bertholdt's classroom to get his backpack before continuing to the main office.

Reiner watched Bertholdt's back until he and the vice principal were out of view in the building, before turning his attention back to Annie. "Wonder what that was about," he mused, trying to make sense of what Mr. Shadis had said.

"Are you stupid?" Annie said with spite, her words stinging like venom.

Reiner wasn't a very smart kid and he knew it, but he didn't appreciate his intelligence being questioned by others. "What the heck?" He retorted.

"It probably is something to do with his dad," she continued, looking unapologetic for what she said. "Don't you remember? It was just last week that he was telling us his dad's cough had been getting worse and he was even throwing up blood into the toilet one night. He has been outliving the doctors' expectations, so maybe it's just his time."

"Oh yeah," Reiner really did feel stupid. He shuffled forward to sit on the swing himself but didn't pump at all, and instead stared down at the gravel which he occasionally scuffed with his shoe.

Annie leaned back and gazed up at the clear September sky. There were no clouds, and the temperature was just perfect. Not to hot, yet also not too cold. The summer had been lasting into the late months it seemed, and the school children had been enjoying it. "I hope he'll be okay," she mumbled, not really intending for Reiner to hear.

"Bertholdt's dad?" The blond boy asked, oblivious as ever.

She gave him a sidelong glare. "No, Bertholdt, you idiot. I don't give two craps about his dad; he's the one putting his family under all that stress and worry. It's our friend I'm worried about. I just hope if something major has happened, that he will find the strength to come back to school, where we can comfort him, and a lot better than that idiot mother of his," her gaze never drifted from the sky, and a gentle breeze swooped into the valley which blew her bangs away from her face; one of the rare opportunities to see Annie's ice cold eyes.

Reiner looked at her for a second, trying to read her expression, but he found none, then proceeded to stare up at the sky with her. Off in the distance he could see some ominous-looking clouds who, judging by the direction of the wind, would most likely shower on their area in maybe an hour or so. As he stared down the future storm, he heard his name being called from across the playground. His attention was diverted to Eren, who was waving him over to wrestle with himself, Connie, Jean, and Marco. Being the roughhousing hooligan he was, he couldn't deny their offer and quickly abandoned his post at Annie's side to join their shenanigans. The second he left his swing, a group of boys who had been prowling nearby and waiting for someone to give up their spot pounced on the opportunity, the leader of the group claiming the seat for himself while the other two pushed him.

Annie gave them a look of disgust before determining that she didn't want to swing by herself, so she slid off her seat and slinked up next to the group of girls which included Mikasa, Sasha, Christa, and Ymir. Also Armin who wasn't quite a girl but was feminine enough to be one. They gave her a half-hearted hello when she appeared next to them, but their attention was quickly returned to the group of roughhousing boys as they grunted, laughed, and rolled around in a big ball of sweat and flailing limbs.

They heard a whistle come from across the playground and everyone stopped to see an angry-looking Mr. Shadis marching over the wood chips to their location. Mikasa, being protective of Eren as she was, quickly grabbed the boy by his collar and pulled him out of the mess, grabbing Armin also and dragging them away from the soon-to-be trouble that would ensue. Annie saw this coming also but figured that Reiner could do with a good chewing-out so she simply folded her arms and leaned against the monkey bars, waiting for the show to start. As the aid arrived and began to chew out the boys for causing a ruckus, Annie smirked at Reiner's flustered and guilt-stricken face. She soon got bored however, and let her gaze wander over to the doors where Bertholdt had exited earlier, and she wondered how the boy was doing. The aid eventually left the boys off with a warning, before resuming his duty of monitoring the playground. The bell rang soon thereafter, and Annie wouldn't let Reiner live up the fact that he almost cried because he got in trouble for the rest of the day, until the final bell rang and the students disembarked to go home.

Bertholdt didn't return until the next week, and the moment Reiner saw the tall boy sitting at his desk on Monday morning, he threw his backpack onto his own desk before charging across the room to snatch his friend up in a massive embrace. "Berthoooldt!" He shrieked while nearly suffocating the boy to death.

"Argh! R-Reiner...can you let go please? I can't...breathe," Bertl gasped, attempting to get air into his lungs.

Reiner immediately let go and stepped back, rubbing the nape of his neck in embarrassment. "Heh. Sorry, I just got so excited to see you. Where were you, by the way? Annie and I missed you. We were really worried."

Bertholdt's small smile that was feint across his face quickly dropped back into a glum expression. "Oh," was all he managed as he turned in his desk to face the table top again, back slouching even more than before. He slid down in the chair a bit, so now his head was about at Reiner's waist.

Reiner quickly realized his mistake and took the seat next to him, before trying to blurt an apology. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to-" he didn't get very far before the taller boy quickly threw himself onto the brawny blond, his arms wrapping tightly around Reiner's middle and his face burying itself into the crook between his head and shoulders. "Bertl wha-" Reiner was surprised to say the least, but he was soon interrupted by a quick, sharp sob which escaped from his friend's body, followed by another, and another. He wanted Bertholdt to feel safe in his embrace, so he quickly wrapped his arms around the tall boy, returning the tight squeeze. He didn't say anything else for fear that he would say the wrong thing, and he was glad that they were always in class a good 15-20 minutes before the rest of their classmates arrived. The teacher was luckily also out, probably making some copies of their assignments for the day.

Bertholdt let himself release all of the feelings he had been containing these past few days, glad to have a friend like Reiner there for him to take them. He didn't want his friend to feel awkward however, and let go after a while, sitting back up straight while wiping away the tears that had escaped with the sleeve of his navy blue sweater. His body still betrayed him by giving the occasional hitch as he calmed himself down, sniffing back whatever tears tried to sneak out again. After about five minutes, he was nearly back to normal, but his eyes were still red and puffy from crying. He turned to face Reiner again who had a genuinely concerned look on his face, and he smiled at the thought that he had someone who cared so much.

He gave a bit of a tired sigh before speaking again. "Thanks Reiner. And, sorry you had to see that. I just...it's just that-" he felt himself beginning to cry again and he got angry at his fragile emotions.

The blond boy gently placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, offering a soft smile. "Hey Bertl, don't even worry about it. I'm here for you whenever you need it."

Bertholdt smiled back at him weakly, then continued on with what he was going to say, is voice shaky with emotion. "W-well...I guess I'll start from Wednesday, when my mom came to check me out. So after I left my mom told me that my dad was in the hospital because he all of a sudden couldn't breathe at work and he passed out and so his coworkers called 911 and they came and got him and so my mom had just come to get me while she was on her way to the hospital," he paused, taking in another uneasy breath. "So when we got to the hospital, the doctor came out and told us flat that he probably wouldn't make it through the night because the tar buildup in his lungs had gotten so bad that they had to hook him up to a machine that breathed for him, but most of his body systems had shut down due to the lack of oxygen. Then the doctor told us we had a choice. We could either keep him on life support and just see where things went, or we could take him off and he would die instantly."

Reiner looked at his friend's hunched position and grim expression. The boy looked so sad and tired; it really pulled at Reiner's heartstrings. "So then...what did you decide?" He asked, concern laden in his voice.

"My mom and I talked about it for a while. She called a couple of our relatives; his parents I think, and then we told the doctor our decision. We wanted to just put him out of his misery, so we had them take him off life support. And then after that, my mom and I just cried for a really long time. We stayed by his bed for a little while before the doctors came and told us that they needed to take him to the morgue. We went home after that, and it was 8 or something by then so my mom just put me to bed and said I didn't have to go to school for the rest of the week," Bertholdt sighed, and traced the scratches on his desk with a finger, but continued on. "Um, then we had the funeral on Saturday...there was a lot of people there, to say the least. I guess I never realized how popular my dad was until there were over 100 people there," He gave a half-hearted laugh. But you should have heard how loud it was when they were all bawling their eyes out. I was one of them of course, so it was some pretty wild stuff. But, he looked so peaceful laying in the coffin. In his will he had written that he didn't want them to dress him up all fancy and stuff. You know what he said he wanted to be wearing when he was buried? The stupid shirt I bought for him in second grade...I saved up my money for like a year to get it for him, and I was lucky enough that they had a sale on it right before Christmas. He loved it so much, he wore it that whole week. And you know what a big Star Wars nerd he was-with that shirt having all of the characters in the entire series on the front he thought it was the best thing ever. So when I saw him wearing it in the coffin I just...ugh, it was too much for me. I swear I couldn't stop freaking crying. The rest of the weekend was really dull, we just stayed and home and lazed around. Now that it's just me and my mom things have gotten a lot quieter...my dad really was the life of the house. I miss him so much, Reiner. I'd give anything for him to be alive right now."

The blond boy was really shocked at all of this. He knew Bertholdt's dad's days were numbered but he never expected him to go out just like that. It just goes to show how you should treasure every day like it's your last and be as close as you can with your friends and family to your last breath. Reiner ruffled the tan-skinned boy's hair. "I'm really sorry. I really am. Your dad was a great guy, I'm glad to have met him a couple of times. I hope your mom does a good enough job of taking care of you, or else I'll have to be your dad!"

Bertholdt gave a quiet snicker, before looking at his friend with gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks Reiner."

"No problem! And hey you know what? Why don't we chase down the ice cream truck after school today, huh? It's always in my neighborhood after school on Mondays so maybe you can come over?" Reiner gave Bert a huge grin, showing off his pearly whites.

Bertl smiled back. "Yeah. That sounds good." It was then that Annie walked into the classroom. The trio sat at a table which had five desks, two on each side and one at the head. Bertholdt sat at the head with Reiner on his left and Annie on his right. Most of the students who had been in their first grade class were in their classes for the following years, including this. She was surprisingly calm as she hung her backpack on the back of her chair and seated herself, scooting in and neatly placing her arms on her desk with her fingers laced. She breathed in through her nose, exhaled, then continued to throw herself upon Bertholdt, squeezing the life out of him in a very tight embrace.

"Where have you been?!" She exclaimed, lifting herself off him and squeezing his cheeks between her hands tightly.

With his face squished up and looking like a fish, the tan boy tried to mumble out, "Some pretty...intense...stuff...can you let go of my face please?"

She stared deeply into his eyes, furrowing her brows before releasing his head, resuming her collected position on her desk. Bertholdt continued to retell the story he told Reiner, but he felt easier saying it this time and didn't get as emotional as he had when he told the blond boy. Annie was very sympathetic when he finished and apologized for viciously attacking him. The boys then invited her to go ice cream truck chasing and she accepted, making some snide remark about how she didn't have anything better to do.


	3. Moving On

"Ugh. I freaking hate the Internet connection at this school!" Reiner growled angrily as he slammed his fists on either side of his laptop. He, Bertholdt and Annie were in the library and working on their essays which were due next week. This was their 6th and final year of elementary school before they would advance to the dreaded middle school. It was also the final quarter, so the teachers were shoving all kinds of homework, essays, and reviews down their throats for the upcoming Sage Tests next month. Everyone in the school dreaded the finals, and the Sage Test challenged both what you already knew as well as what seemed like things you didn't even know about yet. People got a generally bad score on the Sage, so no one knew why the curriculum hadn't been changed yet. However, this was only the second year of the test's use by the state so it was still largely experimental.

"Why don't you just write your essay on paper and save yourself the trouble?" Annie scoffed, not looking up from the words her pencil scratched on her paper.

Reiner rolled his eyes. "Because then it takes twice as long, plus the Internet is full of all sorts of wonderful ways to research and crap so you can get a decent score and not have to do a lot of work!" Annie raised a brow at him, staring up at his wild gestures he made with his hands out of the corner of her eye. "But the stupid freaking Internet is blocking almost every single website so I can't get my research done!"

Annie gave an exasperated sigh. "You do realize we're in a library right? You're surrounded by all of the information you need and all you have to do to get it is to go over to that little bitty computer," she turned in her chair to point to the library's computer which served as a sort of index for all of the books available. "...type in the subject you're researching and it will bring up all of the books that could help you out. And do you know what the best part is? The books' information can't be blocked by the wifi. So there, look at that; I practically did your essay for you, you'll pay for it later."

"Golly gee thanks," the blond boy sniggered, slamming his laptop shut and sliding it into his backpack. "Whatever would I do without you?"

Annie ignored his sarcasm. "I truly think you'd be dead. I've saved your ass so many times I can't even count."

Bertholdt, who had been quietly reading a research book until then and ignoring the bicker of his friends, gasped lightly and then looked at the blonde girl. "Annie, don't use that language! I don't want to get in trouble."

She quirked a brow at him. "And why would you get in trouble for something I said?"

Bert ducked his head behind his book, sweating nervously and blushing slightly. "Well uh...punishment by association I guess. I don't know, it just seems that whenever you guys get in trouble I'm always blamed too. So I feel like I have to babysit you is all," he flinched before he realized what he had said, but Annie was already going off on him.

"What are you talking about? If anything I have to babysit you guys! I'm almost like your second mother, and much of a better one than yours is, Bertholdt!" She threw her hands up in the air then crossed her arms, slumping down in her chair with a fuming expression.

Bertholdt couldn't really deny that Annie was a better mother than his own; her ability to parent had degraded drastically since the death of his father. When she once served fresh, home cooked meals she now offered ramen and TV dinners. She once took all of the household chores upon herself with a smile and stated that she "enjoyed the busywork". Now she needed Bertholdt to do most of the chores, since she had to work two full-time shifts in order for them to stay in their house. Luckily however, he had Reiner and Annie who would come over and help him out as often as they could. They had had to move to a smaller and less nice home after Mr. Hoover passed away, since Mrs. Hoover couldn't find a very well paying job to sustain herself and her son in that nice house. Luckily, the new house was the same distance from the school that their old house was, so Bertholdt didn't have to switch schools. His mom used to be a bright, beautiful, and cheerful woman with a good attitude and lots of friends. Now, her personality had become rather bleak, and she let her appearance go to waste. Her once long and luxurious brown hair she chopped to shoulder length, and she didn't pay attention to her weight anymore so she put on quite a few pounds as well. She used to be very active, but now exercised less than once a month. Her clothes were raggedy, graying and with holes from moths.

Though she lost most of her good and productive hobbies, Ms. Hoover did find a lot of comfort in the Christian faith. She joined a local baptist church, and was very involved in the church's activities. At first, only she would go to the weekly seminars on Sunday, but after a few weeks, she began to bring Bertholdt along with her. When his father was alive, the Hoovers were inactive believers of the ideals of Christianity. But, Mrs. Hoover seemed to find comfort in going to church and becoming a zealot of sorts. Whenever she found Bertl doing something that strayed from the beliefs of the baptists even a little, she would lock him in his room for the night and tell him to pray and repent. Bertholdt never found comfort in the church the way his mom did, and had very conflicted feelings about it. He appreciated that the church gave her a way to escape from the pain of being without his father, but at the same time he hated being forced into the religion and how zealous it had turned her.

He often voiced his concerns with Reiner and Annie who agreed that his mom maybe needed to take a chill pill. Annie's family consisted of very active Mormons, though she herself was an atheist (she of course never let her mother know, who would flip a table if she did). Her father had left her family, leaving behind herself, her mother, and her three younger siblings to fend for themselves recently, so life was a bit of a struggle while her mom had moved their family into the basement of her parents' house, and found a decent enough job as a special education teacher. Reiner also came from a Mormon background, as do most of the people in Utah, but his parents were very lenient with him and told him he could be whatever he wanted to be, and he appreciated the freedom and trust.

It was then that the librarian stood up and turned off the lights, putting on her coat while grabbing her bag and keys. "Library's closed," she informed the three students as she strode over to the door and locked it before leaving.

"Aw, freaking A!" Reiner exclaimed as he threw down the pencil he had just gotten out of his backpack. "Are they serious! We don't have nearly enough time after school to work on anything in here; only like 20 minutes!"

Bertholdt stood up and straightened out his shirt before slipping his sweater on over it and beginning to neatly place his papers and such into his side bag. "Don't worry about it, Reiner, you guys can just come over to my house and we'll finish there."

The blond boy stuffed his things into his backpack before slinging it over his back and adjusting the straps so they weren't to tight but not too loose either. He then laced his fingers together and placed them on the back of his head while giving a big stretch. He strained through his teeth, "Yeah ok, I'm down. How about you Annie?"

"Sorry guys not today," she answered nonchalantly, putting her supplies in her backpack as well before putting it on her back. "I have to go to my little sister's dance recital and I guess it's a big deal or something. I'll just finish the essay at home, so I'll see you two losers later." With that, she left through the doors silently, letting them close on their own.

Reiner turned to Bertholdt. "Well, should we head out?" He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the doors. Bert nodded and they left after checking to make sure they had everything and courteously turning off the lights. Bertholdt lived only 10 minutes away from the school, but the walk seemed a lot longer due to the sun beating down on the poor boys in the late spring weather. They chatted lightly, discussing the most recent assignments in class and the upcoming summer vacation.

"Do you have any plans for the break?" Reiner queried, gazing up at his tall friend while his hands were shoved in his baggy cargo pants.

Bertholdt began to sweat slightly. "O-oh, um...I don't think so...I mean my mom did want me to get baptised at the church but um...I don't really want to."

Reiner kicked a pebble with his scuffed and overused sneaker, inspecting the sidewalk on which the duo graced their presence. "Man, Bert, if you don't want to do it, then just tell her no. And hey, my family is going camping in Moab for a while so you should see if you can come with us!"

Bertl flushed. "Oh, I-I don't think I'm quite so brave as to stand up to her like that...plus she'd just get mad at me and throw me in my room and tell me to pray and repent again. But, you guys don't really have to take me with you...I don't want to be a burden," the tall boy had his fingers laced together while he twiddled his thumbs, ashamed at rejecting Reiner's proposal like that.

Reiner grinned. "Are you kidding me? My folks love you like a second son; they would adore having you come with us! And to convince your mom to let you go just tell her that it's going to be like a big religious deal and it'll bring you closer to God or something."

Bertholdt sniggered. "Okay, yeah. I'll do that. I like your family a lot too, they're pretty cool," he buried his face in his collar, blushing and giving a slight smile. Reiner laughed at this, thinking he looked like a really shy giraffe calf. They continued on to the taller boy's house like this, chatting up a pointless storm and laughing at every other remark Reiner made. The streets of the neighborhood were beginning to come to life as the weather was getting warmer, and everyone's lawns were a step ahead of them. The blades of grass were already long, thick, and in need of a pretty major haircut. Flowers had long since been blooming too, sprouting up in people's gardens alongside the many weeds such as knapweeds, thistles, and hemlocks. Bertholdt despised the thistles more than anything. If left untamed, they could grow to be 6 feet tall, and were the greatest enemy of every bike tire that happened across their path. They were covered in spikes that grew long and sharp, and hurt like hell if you happened to get poked.

As the boys rounded the last corner to get to Bertl's house, their focus fell on the small house that Mrs. Hoover had managed to scrounge up the money to pay for, which wasn't much. It was a one-story but with an attic that served as Bertholdt's bedroom after some renovation. There were two other bedrooms in the house, but one was filled with storage and the last was his mother's room. The building was rather run-down; the shingles on the roof were old and many were missing, while there were a few cracked windows (one that had even fallen out and was replaced by a wooden board) and faded white paint which was coming off rapidly in flakes. The yard wasn't terrible-the grass grew green like everyone else's, but the dirt was uneven and lumpy and there were more weeds in the garden than anything else. Bertholdt hated yard work, but the second he saw a thistle beginning to grow in the garden he would throw himself into weeding and getting rid of those nasty plants. The cement of the house was also in major need of repair; it was cracked and broken up into chunks in most places, while also being multicolored from years of patchwork. The house was over a hundred years old, and the only bathroom had a massive hole in the ceiling through which the floorboards of the next level could be seen. The shower was probably the most vile part, covered in mold and his mother's shed brown hair. She really didn't have a knack for cleaning anymore, and Bertholdt didn't have the stomach to try to take care of the bathroom. It was the one place he couldn't clean.

The boys jogged up the front steps and opened the always-unlocked front door, it's ancient hinges squealing in despair. Mrs. Hoover was sitting in the front room, working at her sewing machine on a piece of fabric that was too early into the process to tell what it was going to be. Her once brown hair that was now streaking with grey hung loosely about her shoulders, and she had on a long-sleeved shirt as well as a skirt that went to her ankles. A cross with Jesus Christ's crucifixion hung about her neck, and she would often grasp it and whisper a quick prayer throughout her day.

The woman looked up from her work, giving the boys an uninterested glance before resuming her project. "Hello Bertholdt. Reiner. How was school today?" She asked nonchalantly. They mumbled a quiet response, knowing she didn't really care about their answer. They made their way past her and up the stairs that led to Bertl's bedroom, which was the entirety of the attic. It was small, as was the rest of the house, and there were several leaks in the ceiling that during the wet season were very obnoxious and had to constantly have a bucket underneath, as the Hoovers didn't have money for a contractor. His room was sparse, with his too-small twin size bed against the far wall underneath his window, as well as a desk with some papers and a minuscule office chair. He had a walk-in closet which was nice, but only extended back into the wall about 5 feet.

They dropped their backpacks against the left side of the door after shutting it as per usual, and Bertholdt flopped down face-first onto his bed, sighing into the pillow. Reiner followed suit and threw himself on top of the longer boy, who gave a muffled "Oof!" When the heavier boy made his landing, crushing the life out of his friend. They laid there for a minute, regaining their energy after the hot walk home, before Bert sat up and pushed the blond off, who fell onto the floor with a grunt.

Bert stood up and stretched, then motioned over to his desk for Reiner to join him. "Come on, let's finish that essay," he encouraged, setting up the spare fold-out chair which he kept leaning against the wall for whenever Reiner came over.

"Yeah alright," the blond sighed, picking himself up and grabbing his laptop while taking his place at Bertholdt's side. The two worked on their essay until both of them finished it, Bert kindly helping his friend out as much as possible. After a few hours, Mrs. Hoover appeared at the door stating that Reiner's parents had called, asking him to come home. When she opened the door, a slight scent of whatever she was cooking wafted in from the kitchen downstairs, and it made the boys' mouths water.

Reiner reluctantly packed up his supplies before thanking her for allowing him to come over. Bertholdt and his mother walked the boy to the front door, watching him leave until he suddenly stopped and turned around, running back and stopping in front of them. "Um, Mrs. Hoover...I was wondering...if um...well over the summer my family and I are gonna spend like a week or something in Moab and I was wondering if maybe Bertholdt could come too. I mean if you don't already have plans," he scuffed his shoe nervously, holding his hands behind his back and staring at the cracks in the cement.

The tall woman stared down at him with an eyebrow raised, before droning out, "I'll think about it, Reiner."

He gave a polite dip of his head before scurrying off down the sidewalk, waving back to Bertholdt furiously before rounding the corner at full speed. Mrs. Hoover ushered her son back inside, closing the door after him. "Come sit at the table, dinner's ready."

The boy quietly followed his mother to where she had the small wooden table set with two plates of macaroni salad and small breasts of soy chicken. As a part of the baptist religion, his mother no longer believed in eating meat so she gave her son soy meat as a replacement. Bertholdt hated the soy, it wasn't even half as good as regular meat. He ate it without complaints however, as he knew she would get upset if he didn't.

He politely sat at the place across from his mother, automatically folding his hands in preparation for the prayer. "Dear Father in Heaven," the brunette began, holding her hands in a similar fashion to her son's and her brows furrowed. "Please bless this meal which I have so graciously prepared for myself and my son. Please allow it to give us the strength we need to stay strong throughout our next day of being surrounded by bigotry and atheism. We thank you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

"Amen," Bertoldt echoed, before picking up his fork and diving into the salad. The sounds of silverware scraping against plates was the only noise in the house for a while, aside from the second hand on the clock ticking away constantly on the wall. "So um," Bert started initiating conversation, and when his mother looked up from her plate, he swallowed his bite before continuing. "Have you...made a decision about the trip with Reiner yet?"

The woman sighed and loudly set down her fork, causing Bertholdt to flinch ever so slightly. "Bert, honey, you know how I feel about you going off and staying with people outside of this family."

His lips tightened, forming a flat line which expressed his disagreement. "But mom, we've known his family for almost six years! And you've met his parents a lot of times before and you like them! They're nice! It's not like they'll do anything to me, they're good people. And they believe in the Lord and they hold him in high regards like we do and they pray and go to church and everything," then Bert remembered what Reiner had said. "Plus, I believe that me going down there with them will bring me closer to God as we will be in a clearer air and away from all of the social media which poisons us here in the city," Bertl felt a bit strange repeating some of his mother's words back at her, but he hoped he could convince her to let him go. He had realized that he couldn't spend all summer long just staying at home with her while she sewed and preached to him about following the commandments of the Lord. It got REALLY old after a while.

Mrs. Hoover sat still for a minute, her eyes boring into Bertholdt's soul like she had laser eyesight. He began to sweat profusely, but didn't look away from the woman, standing his ground unlike he ever had before. She sighed before picking up her fork again, popping a bite of the chicken in her mouth. She took her time with chewing, and it made Bertholdt even more nervous to be surrounded in the silence while preparing for the worst. Swallowing the bite, she set down her fork again and exhaled, before replying, "Well, if you don't want to spend the summer with your mother then that's fine, you go romp around with that boy all you want."

Bertholdt feel his heart drop a bit. Why was she guilt tripping him? Was she trying to convince him not to go? He tried to argue, "No mom, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, it's just that I don't usually get to see Reiner over the summer so I was thinking that since this is the last year of elementary school we could celebrate our graduation by doing something nice," he stiffened up as he waited for her response, for her to start screaming and yelling and telling him to go repent in his room.

She smirked slightly, stirring her pasta around absentmindedly with her fork. "Very well, if that's how you say it is. But only if your end of the year tests meet my expectations, young man. As long as you can do that for me, I'll let you go on the trip with the Brauns."

When the end of the year Sage testing came around, Bertholdt did his damnedest to get high scores. He spent most of his free time in school and at home studying, and he made sure to be extra kind to his mother. He helped out with even more chores, and didn't often have time to hang out with Reiner and Annie. They were as sympathetic as friends being almost ignored could be, though Annie liked to tease him about being a massive book worm with "no life or ability to function like a normal person."

However, after their class had spent two weeks taking the science, math, and language arts sections, Bertholdt was feeling uneasy about the scores. Annie and Reiner stated that they couldn't care less what they got because the Sage didn't affect their grade, but that didn't help Bert's anxiety at all. So, when the teacher stood at the front of the class on the following Monday stating that she had the test scores back, Bertl couldn't help but to break out in a copious sweat. The teacher went down the list in alphabetical order, starting at the top with Ackerman, Mikasa. She got a 4/5 on math, 5/5 on science, and 4/5 on language arts. Next was Arlert, Armin, who got a solid 5/5 on every subject, as to be expected of such a brainiac. Then there was Bodt, Marco, with a 3/5 on math, 4/5 on science, and 5/5 on language arts. Braun, Reiner, received a 2/5 on math, 3/5 on science, and a 2/5 on language arts. He sniggered a bit when he heard his score and Bert rolled his eyes. Braus, Sasha, got a 3/5 on all subjects. Then, Hoover, Bertholdt got a 4/5 on math and a 5/5 on science and language arts. Reiner slapped him on the back in encouragement and the taller boy grimaced, before grinning with relief. Now he knew he could go on the trip with Reiner! His mother had said that she wanted to see at least 4's on all of the areas, and he had exceeded her expectations. The teacher continued on through the list, and most of the other students did okay-Eren got 3/5's, Jean got 2/5's, Annie got 4/5's, Christa got 4/5's, and Connie got 2/5's. Ymir surprised everyone with solid 1/5's, however they knew that she just marked the first answer on all of the questions so she could be done early.

Before they knew it, the final week of school rolled around the corner, and the class was hectic while the teacher was trying to get everyone to clean up. The students were spending their time scraping gum off from under the desks, packing their backpacks full of their assignments returned to them from the duration of the year, and just cleaning up the rest of the room in general. It took the whole week, but by the time it was Friday all of the desks had been moved out into the hall and stacked on top of each other. All of the posters and decorations in the room had been removed and put in storage for next year. School ended at noon and it was already 11:30, so all of the classes were attending an assembly hosted by the faculty, in which certain star students were given academic awards and they had the opportunity to throw pies at the vice principals and some of the teachers. After the principal gave a long speech about his appreciation for the hard work and dedication that each student had put forth throughout the year, he told everyone to exit the building through the southernmost doors where a surprise awaited them outside. They filed out slowly into the field behind the school and were greeted with free Creamies for everyone.

Reiner had the idea to run ahead of the student body and grab a Creamie for himself, Bertholdt and Annie, before all of the good flavors were taken. He was right to do so, because after about 10 minutes the only flavor left was banana. The trio had a mutual appreciation for chocolate, so they sat on the field facing the mountains and gazed down at the valley while waiting for the final bell to excuse them to go home. They sat in silence as their ice cream was more important than conversation, but each other's company was all that was needed to make the moment perfect.

Annie licked her Creamie clean before tossing the Popsicle stick aside and leaning back on her hands, sighing in content. "So when do you idiots go on your dumb trip?"

Reiner grunted, taking his Creamie out of his mouth before growling, "It's not dumb, and we're leaving tomorrow."

Annie gave him a look that said she could care less what he thought because they were leaving her with her family for a whole week before continuing, "Well, did you at least pack everything? I'm not too concerned about you Reiner because your folks probably have everything covered but Bert-do you have all that you'll need?"

The tall boy nodded. "Yeah! My mother might be incompetent but I'm certainly not! I have clothes for every day we'll be there, plus a spare change in case something happens, hiking boots, pj's, a swimsuit, a sleeping bag, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a jacket!"

The blonde bobbed her head in satisfaction. "Good. Now I don't have to worry about you dorks while you're gone. But hey bring me back a souvenir will ya? I've never been to Moab so maybe bring me just like a rock or something. As long as you promise me that, I'll allow you to abandon me for a whole week."

"Geez Annie, you don't have to make us feel bad about it! It's not like you'll be totally bored or anything!" Reiner griped, giving a pained expression.

She scoffed. "Yeah well with my super religious Mormon mom I can't say we'll be doing anything worth while. Probably just doing a bunch of stupid church activities and stuff. At least you guys will get to have some fun!"

They all started to snicker until the final bell rang, and a unanimous cheer of victory was heard throughout the school. The trio stood up and brushed the grass off from their legs before hugging and saying goodbye, then running off to their respective houses to prepare for the summer break.

Reiner was at Bertholdt's door at the crack of dawn, giddy with excitement. The tall boy had been up since six anyways, unable to sleep any longer. He had been waiting in his living room for the resounding knocks on the door, his mother knitting quietly on the couch. The moment he heard the rapid taps of knuckles on ancient wood Bertl flew out of his seat, grabbing his bags and swooping over to the door. He yanked it open with all his might, and was greeted by a frivolous Reiner and his exhausted looking mother, who smiled kindly at Bert.

Mrs. Braun leaned her head into the doorway and waved at Bert's mother. "Hi Sharon! Thank you so much for letting Bertl come with us! We'll have him back to you by next Sunday!"

Mrs. Hoover looked up from her in-progress sweater, giving a fake smile and replying, "Of course, Brooke. Anything to get the boys together, right?"

Reiner's mother nodded and smiled sweetly before the boys were already down the front porch steps, Bertholdt calling a quick goodbye to his mother. Mrs. Braun watched them with wide eyes before giving one last small wave to Bertholdt's mom, closing the door as she followed them to the truck. Bertholdt was tall enough to reach the trunk but not quite that strong, so Reiner helped chuck his sleeping bag and suitcase into the truck bed. They then clambered into the backseat alongside of Reiner's younger sister while his mother gracefully sat herself in the passenger seat.

Reiner's father, a very large and buff man with the same blond hair and gold eyes that he passed down to his children, was imposing to say the least but was actually kind at heart. He found it easier to love and help others than hurt and beat people up. He often scared others away but once you got to know him, he was your best friend and would always help you out in times of need. Reiner's mother was very much so the same way. She was a taller woman with similar blonde hair and a well-built body. She was very gentle and caring, but also had a secret 'mama bear' mode which came out whenever one of her children were in danger. Reiner's younger sister was only 7 years old, but she had a tough attitude that could take anyone on and she tolerated bullies or trash talking 0%. She was the smallest in their family, very short and petite with two small blonde pigtails, and there was always some form of candy stuck in her mouth.

When Bertholdt had finished buckling himself into the seat next to the window on the right side of the truck, little Lillianne stuck her head out from behind Reiner who was a barrier between the two, the stick of a sucker poking out of the corner of her lips. "Hi Bertholdt! She greeted cheerily, giving the tall boy a famous Braun grin, which stretched from ear to ear and showed all of the pearly whites in the bearer's mouth. A Braun would only give someone this grin as a sign of true friendship, and the Brauns certainly loved Bertholdt like a second son.

The tall boy knew his own awkward half-smile was pitiable in the presence of a Braun grin, but he still offered his best in return. "Hi Lilly. Are you excited for the trip?"

She pumped a tiny fist in the air. "You bet I am! I can't wait for all of the hiking, and the swimming, and rafting down the river and we might even go on one of those cool jeep tours they have!"

There was booming laughter from the driver's seat which belonged only to Mr. Braun, a sound that matched that of a lion's roar. "That's right, kiddos! We have a whole crapload of great things planned so we better get this show on the road! The longer we sit here saying formalities the more daylight we waste! And it's a four hour trip, so I hope you brought something to keep you entertained, Bertl."

Even though he knew the man couldn't see him, Bert nodded sheepishly and pulled a book out of his backpack which he made sure to pack full of reading material, a sketchbook and pencil, his MP3, and some snacks in case they got hungry (which being with the Brauns was a guarantee). Mr. Braun revved the engine to life and it resounded without a hitch. Switching into gear they began to pull away from Bert's house. The tall boy gave one last look back at his house before they left. He couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw his mother peek out from behind the curtains in the living room ever so slightly before shutting them again quickly. Shrugging it off, Bertholdt reverted his attention to the family in the car with him. Reiner's father had thrown on some stereotypical country music and the boy couldn't help but cringe slightly; country was his least favorite genre of music.

Something elbowed his side lightly and he turned to see Reiner leaning in close to whisper, "You better get used to that; my folks love crappy music and it's all they know how to play."

The boys had always shared a common taste in music, preferring the unpopular alternative rock and metal style of things compared to most of the stuff that came out of the radio. However they were open to other music, and wouldn't hate on someone for liking a different taste. But they really couldn't stand the basic run-of-the-mill country. It was their worst enemy. So, when Bertholdt pulled his MP3 out of his backpack and Reiner grabbed out his earbuds, the two knew that great minds do think alike.

Upon arriving at the campsite, it was about 10:30 am. Everyone hopped out of the truck and allowed themselves to stretch their cramped legs and work out the muscles which had tightened from sitting in the same position for four solid hours. The air was fresh and crisp while the sun was still rising above the eastern mountains, bathing the red rock in its light. The campsite was pretty simple; it had a place for you to park your vehicle, a fire pit, a table, and the rest of the space was for your tents.

"Okay kiddies," Mr. Braun's deep voice called out to the three children after he let them get their stretches out. He treaded around to the back of the trunk and pulled down on the handle, opening the latch to reveal all of the luggage packed within. "I need you boys to come over here and help me with all this; let's get camp set up, shall we?"

Reiner gave a hearted hoot before running to join his father, grabbing Bertholdt by the wrist and dragging him along. It took them all at least an hour and a half to get the truck entirely unloaded and the campsite set up. Since their one main tent was a bit small for all five bodies to fit in, they had brought a smaller, extra tent for the boys to share so that in the end everyone had decent space. Lilly had protested about wanting to join them in he mini tent, but her parents refused her stating that the boys needed "boy time to themselves."

It was almost noon once they were ready to do something with their time there, so they agreed on a simple hike before a tour around the main town. They decided to take the Corona Arch hike, which was a fairly easy and friendly hike that would only take 1-2 hours. When they pulled up to the entrance to the hike, parking the truck next to a bunch of other vehicles, it was already 12:30 and the adults ushered everyone to get a move on if they wanted a chance to look at the town. They all made sure to bring 2-3 water bottles per person, and Mrs. Braun had laden her backpack with all sorts of snacks as well as a sack lunch for everyone. Before the kids could run off on the trail however, she grabbed Lilly and Reiner and lathered them up with sunscreen, insisting that they protect their fair skin. The blond boy got flustered and ran ahead of everyone while dragging his friend behind him.

Everyone else was only 50 yards or so away but they were still out of hearing range. Reiner took this time to express his distaste for his mother's crooning over him as if he were still Lilly's age. Since Bertholdt didn't really know how that felt, he only nodded his head in agreement while giving the occasional "Yeah" of slight understanding. He wished he could have younger siblings to complain to Reiner about, but ever since his mother joined the baptist church she took an oath of chastity and swore to never again be married.

They continued to amble on about aimless topics, and the other three Brauns slowly crept up on the two over the course of the hike, and while Bertholdt took notice but didn't say anything Reiner was as oblivious as a goldfish. The scenery of the hike was breathtaking to the hikers as they trudged along, gazing up in awe at the canyon walls of red rock surrounding them. The afternoon sun burning hot in the sky beat down on the weary travelers, but they were fueled on by a passion to see the arch. Lilly tripped several times on a stray rock which she overlooked, but she held her head high and would get up and dust herself off before giving the rock an evil glare and continuing on her way.

Eventually, they got to a point where there was a crowd of people all looking up at and taking pictures of some large attraction, and it gave the hikers a newfound burst of energy. "Come on Bert we made it!" Reiner cried, grabbing the other by his wrist and dragging him to the end of the trail. Lilly spurred her little legs to try to keep up with the boys, huffing along as she followed behind them. They reached a large open space littered with people strewn about the rocks, refueling with water and whatever food they had packed to fill their ravenous mouths. There were groups of children laughing and scampering about the top of the cliff, with the occasional parents hollering at them not to stray too close to the edge. The view of the red rock mountains was astounding, their shining faces gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The real show, however, was the arch. It's massive body stood 140 feet tall with a 105 foot opening. The area was rather clear around it and it stood out like a shiny penny on a sidewalk on a clear day. There was a group of people standing at the top of the arch, but they were right under the sun so it was hard to see what they were doing. Most of the people on the ground had put on sunglasses to look up and see what they were doing.

The kids quickly found a place to rest, situating themselves as comfortably as they could get on the rough stones, throwing off their backpacks and leaning back to take a break. Reiner's parents came and joined them a few seconds later, huffing down and sighing in fatigue. Mrs. Braun raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight as she squinted up at the top of the arch, trying to make out what they were doing. Then, with sudden realization, she gave a small gasp and motioned for the kids to look up as well. "You guys might want to watch what those people do!"

They gave her a small look of confusion before they too let their gaze drift to those brave souls, wondering what the heck they could be doing. Then, one man in particular who wore a bright red shirt strapped on a helmet, and tightened what looked like a bunch of straps making up a harness, before giving a thumbs up to the crowd. He received a chorus of claps and hoots, only arousing the kids' suspicion even more. "What the heck is he-" Reiner was cut off as the figure took a flying leap off the edge of the arch and everyone below him cried out. Lilly gave a small scream as they all watched the jumper fall to his doom, and Bertholdt leaped to his feet in panic. Just as it looked like the poor soul would meet his fate on the sharp rocks below him, he suddenly jerked and swung in the opposite direction. It was then that the kids realized he had been attached to a cord which tied around the entire arch, allowing him to swing in the arch's wide opening. They could hear his distant whoops of joy as he swung in and out of the arch, probably having the thrill of his life. The crowd roared in applause, amazed at his daring stunt.

Bertholdt looked down at Reiner who was likewise cheering, and he saw a certain glint in the boy's eye which he knew could be nothing but trouble. "Don't even think about doing anything like that!" Bert warned, making it clear he wanted his friend nowhere even near that sort of thing.

Reiner looked up at his friend and gave a laugh. "Don't worry Bertl! I'm not going to do that, it just looks like a ton of fun!" The taller boy gave him a suspicious look before letting his attention return to the daredevil swinging on the arch. Reiner then mumbled under his breath so Bert couldn't hear, "At least not right now anyways," and he determinedly made a mental note to go arch jumping when he was old enough.


	4. Their Opinion

The trip home from Moab was rather quiet, as everyone was well exhausted from all of the hiking, rafting, playing and exploring they had done. The hour was bordering midnight when the Salt Lake valley came into sight, and the three children had all fallen asleep leaning on each other in the backseat. Mr. and Mrs. Braun were gazing at the road ahead with droopy eyelids, the roar of the truck's engine the only thing keeping them awake, when the fair-complexioned woman remembered something.

"Oh," she exclaimed quietly, sitting up in realization from her previous position of leaning against the window.

"What is it?" The burly man questioned, arching a thick brow while not letting his attention drift from driving.

"Well I was wondering what we were going to do with Bertholdt tonight," she replied.

"Do with him? We're going to take the boy home to his mother like we promised, that's what we'll do. We're already late as it is, we said we'd have him back earlier today." There was an air of annoyance with her in his voice, but it didn't affect her at all.

"Yes, but...it's just so late and it would be a bit rude to wake her at this hour, don't you think?" Mr. Braun could sense that she wasn't telling him something, and he decided to probe further.

"Alright, just spit it out. What's eating at you?" He asked with a quick glance.

She fidgeted, choosing her words before responding, "It's just that...don't you think that woman acts...oddly?"

"'That woman'? Since when were you so crude with your words? And how do you mean oddly?" His fingers shuffled themselves on the steering wheel.

"Well, don't you agree that ever since Mark passed she acted differently? And especially after joining that Baptist church. I don't think it was the best way for her to cope with her grief, them shoving all of those thoughts in her head, and it's also affected her son negatively. Don't you listen to all the things Reiner says about her attitude and lifestyle changes? And that she makes Bertholdt pray and repent for the slightest things while living him in his room?" Her voice strained when concern.

He shook his head slightly. "Oh I'm sure the boys dramatize things and make them seem worse than they probably are. Besides, what's your point? Are you wanting to have the cops haul her off to jail for exercising her right to freedom of religion and then adopt the only family she has left?"

"Oh geez Frank don't bend my words beyond their meaning, please. All I'm saying is that I don't want her to be upset with us for barging in on her in the early hours of the morning, and ruining the possibility of him coming on any more trips with us, or of her getting angry with him for whatever reason."

"Then why don't you just call her? Maybe she's staying up and waiting for us, worried sick that it's twelve in the morning and she hasn't heard a word from us," Brooke decided to take his advice and shakily called Mrs. Hoover, hoping the religious woman wouldn't be too upset with them.

She heard the line pick up and a monotone voice on the other end answer, "Hello, Brooke?"

"Ah, Sharon!" Mrs. Braun laughed lightly, trying to create an air of ease. "I'm so sorry to call in like this, but I just wanted to tell you we aren't kidnapping Bertholdt or anything and we're about half an hour out from your house."

"Good, I was beginning to worry. I've been up anyways so I'll just hold out until you get here, then you can drop my son off and be on your way," she sounded as unwelcoming as ever, which still gave Mrs. Braun the goosebumps.

She tried to finish the conversation as quickly as possible before her discomfort became too apparent without coming on as rude. "Well, again, thanks for letting us have him this week, I know he really enjoyed it and so did we. So I guess we'll see you in half an hour?"

"It would appear so," was the last thing heard from the other line before the sound of the receiver being hung up and the resounding beeping of a finished call was heard.

Mrs. Braun put her phone back into her purse, giving her husband a grimace. He looked at her with mild amuse, snickering slightly. "I do think I see your point," he gave in and received a grin in return.

Bertholdt had been awake for long enough to overhear the Braun's conversation about him and his mother. He kept his eyes closed so they didn't know he was listening, and he couldn't help but agree with what they were saying. Except when Mr. Braun speculated they might be exaggerating. But, when he heard his mother's tone on the phone, he knew she wasn't happy. He wasn't exactly excited to go home to whatever wrath she might present, but at least he was prepared for it this time.

When they pulled up to his house, he pretended to yawn and stretch while he "woke up". The Brauns hopped out of the cab of the truck, and while Mr. Braun got Bertl's suitcase from the trunk, Mrs. Braun opened the door for him to jump out. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and graciously accepted his suitcase from Reiner's father's powerful hands. The fair woman walked him to his front door and he thanked her for bringing himself with them, asking her to say goodbye to Reiner and Lilly for him when they woke up. He then prepared himself as he opened the front door, giving one last longing glance back at the Brauns, before entering his domicile with anticipation of the worst.

His mother was sitting on the couch, knitting something out of habit. When her son made his presence clear, she stopped entirely and looked up at him with only her eyes for a second before resuming her work, stating with a bitter-laden voice, "You're very late, my son."

Bertholdt shifted uncomfortably in front of the door, not sure what to do. "Um...yeah. Sorry mom, we just kinda lost track of time and didn't start heading back until we finished one last hike up the red rocks.."

"Hike?" She exclaimed in surprise. "You said it was going to be an enlightening trip to bring you closer to Him!"

"I-it was, mom! We would go on the hikes to bring us up closer to heaven so we could be more connected with the Lord!" Bert felt his confidence slipping under her intense stare, like she was peering into his soul.

"And what else are you going to tell me? That you went rafting so you could have the experience of being baptised like Jesus Christ did at John the Baptist Church? I'm no fool, boy," she had the ice of Antarctica in her voice, and it have him the chills.

"No mom, I really did feel more connected with Him! But even with that, I enjoyed the experience so that I could be able to do something more than just read and study the bible all summer!" He persisted, feeling a sudden surge of bravery.

She gasped at his retort and gripped the cross she hung around her neck, quickly uttering a silent prayer. "Lord I ask you forgiveness upon this child, that the thoughts poisoned in his head by the anti-christ be purged with your holy touch, and his mouth washed with soap that he might once again walk the earth a cleansed soul, I say these things in the name of the Lord, Christ the Savior, and the Holy Spirit; amen."

Bert rolled his eyes while she prayed, his newfound courage allowing him the extra necessary boldness to do so. When she finished, her angry eyes returned to him and he knew what was coming. "It is a fortunate thing you're being baptised this summer, that we might not have to have these discussions anymore."

With a little less ambition, Bertholdt hesitantly stated, "Actually mom, I'm not entirely sure I want to go through with the baptism. I just don't feel connected with the beliefs of the church like you do. I just don't want to be baptised now, when I'm not one hundred percent sure, and regret it later on in life."

His mother was surprised to say the least, that much was clear by the expression on her face while her hand drifted up to the cross again. The tall boy felt his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for her response, his courage nearly gone now.

"Y-you ungrateful child..." she breathed, amazement at his outburst still apparent on her face. "I-if that's your opinion, then I am glad we won't be doing the baptism for such an unfaithful boy," she then glowered at him, and he tensed up in preparation for the worst. "HOW DARE YOU DENY THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED BY THE FATHER FOR YOU TO FURTHER YOUR DEVOTION TO THE CHURCH AND PROVE YOUR WORTHINESS TO GO TO HEAVEN?! LITTLE BRAT YOU, GET YOUR SORRY ASS INTO YOUR BEDROOM AND PRAY TO THE LORD FOR FORGIVENESS! REPENT FOR BEING AN UNWORTHY SWINE IN THE GRACE OF HIS PRESENCE! REPENT MY SON, LEST SATAN FIND HIS WAY INTO YOUR SOUL AND CONDEMN YOU TO ETERNAL LIFE IN HELL!"

Bertholdt quickly gathered his things and zipped past her up to the attic, shutting his door behind him and breathing a sigh of relief that that was done and over with. He sighed and quietly unpacked his suitcase while listening to his mother mutter terrible nothings about Mormons, influence, Satan, and a disappointing son. He wasn't that affected by it as he had heard it all before, but when she released all of her energy to yell at him it was still somewhat of a terrifying experience. He flopped down on his bed, pulling off his pants and throwing them into the laundry basket across the room, as well as his very sweaty shirt. He'd have to do laundry soon. With only boxers remaining to cover his body, he clambered under the covers and nestled into the warmth of the blankets, letting the soft padding of the mattress absorb the day's worries. He curled up into a fetal position, pulling the blankets up under his nose and closing his eyes while sleep welcomed his conscious.


End file.
